Don't Take Wooden Nickels
by Hikareh
Summary: Collection of drabbles. Expect character studies, Sonic and Tails bonding, stupid jokes, and experiments. 11: Tails is forced to return to a life he left behind...
1. Hide and Seek

**Don't Take Wooden Nickles**_  
>1: Hide and Seek<br>By Hikari-san42_  
><em>Rating:<em>_ Ranging from K - T depending on Drabble (T for this one)  
><span>Warnings<span>: Cuss words. (Teenagers, what do you expect?)  
><strong>NOTES:<strong> I found a few drabbles hanging around in a flashdrive I thought I had lost a few days ago, and I decided that they needed to be posted. That being said, there isn't a specific length I'm going for. I'm just writing for fun and getting it out there. If any specific thing gets enough feedback or interest I might expand on it._

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own any recognizable material in this story.  
><em>

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><p><em>Hide and Seek<em>

Sometimes, Knuckles felt that his life was out of balance. Most of the time, he was completely at peace – like this morning, when he had been lounging in the sun, hat propped on his head, gazing at the clouds and getting in a few extra winks of sleep – while at other times, he was on edge and completely ready to kill something, preferably with his fists and a loud, insane yet intimidating sounding cry.

Now was defiantly one of those times.

But, really, could you blame him? Anyone would be on edge if Sonic and Tails were running around _their_ home playing '_let's hide insert-inanimate-object-here and you find it!'_ without abandon. Of course, he had tried his hardest to stop them, but if there's one thing Sonic wasn't, it was thin-skulled, and he simply grabbed Tails and dashed off to a different Zone, forcing Knuckles to follow him. Up to now, he had been to most of the Zones on the Island, bar Launch Base, and he was getting sick of crawling around in secret tunnels built for hiding and not intended in any fashion or form for quick movement.

The things Sonic and Tails insisted on hiding were infuriating too, because they had somehow managed to lug them up from the surface, which meant that if they didn't find something, he would be forced to search for it, because it could upset the delicate balance on the Island.

Or so he liked to think.

So far, there had been a bright green plastic ring with a weight tied to one end in Hydrocity Zone, placed there by Tails for Sonic to find. It sunk straight to the bottom of the still-flooded Zone, and Sonic had looked at Tails blankly before turning tail and stalking off, grumbling under his breath about smartassed foxes who wouldn't be getting dinner for the next few days.

Knuckles then had to spend fifteen minutes swimming around the large Zone to try to find the stupid green circlet. Once he had, he burned it, enjoying the crackling noise it made.

Next came a small yellow screwdriver, hidden in Sandopolis by Sonic. Turns out, that screwdriver was apparently a present from Sonic to Tails a few years ago, and Sonic decided that it was fine payback for the water ring to take it and hide it. Tails had looked despondent, begging Sonic to tell him where it was. It didn't take long for the hedgehog to break, but it was long enough for Knuckles to almost pull his spines out.

The most recent item was a popsicle, hidden cleverly in Ice Cap Zone by Tails. Sonic was currently running around the icy Zone, searching for the red thing. Tails was standing beside him, hands laced behind his head and mouth set in a small smile, the picture of innocence.

"Ya'know Knuckles, you should play a round with us. It's fun." The fox remarked, turning to the fuming echidna. In the past few hours, he had used up all the threats he could think of and pretty much exhausted his bribery pool, so there wasn't much else he could do except stand near the two to make sure they didn't break anything.

Again.

"I'd rather lick a cactus than play your stupid little game."

Tails pulled a disgusted face, sticking his tongue out to the side and squenching his eyes shut. "No need to be so specific Knuckles. A simple 'no' would have sufficed."

"I've already tried _'no_', kid. That word doesn't seem to be included in the Big Book of Sonic Vocabulary."

"I dunno, Knux, he tells me no all the time."

Knuckles fell silent, unable to think of a good comeback to such a simple statement. He rolled his shoulders, popped his neck, and turned on his heel, heading toward the edge of the Zone. "You know what?" He asked, stomping through the snow. "I'm gonna go finish my nap. You two finish up your game."

"Do you want us to tell you when we leave?" Tails didn't seem fazed with the quick change of subject.

"Nah, I'll be able to tell when the silence settles in."

"Oh, okay then…"

Knuckles moved to keep going toward his destination, a nice warm patch of sun near the humming Master Emerald, when Sonic's voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the hedgehog called. Knuckles didn't turn, just kept walking.

"And why's that?"

"Because the Master Emerald won't be there."

The echidna froze, foot halfway in the air.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned, about-facing to catch a glimpse of Sonic's smirking face from where he was leaning on a tree.

"And why's that?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms and struggling to keep himself from tackling the hedgehog to the ground.

"Because I hid it."

Knuckles' face went sour, his lips puckering and his eyes widening. "You did _what_?" His voice boomed off the mountains around him, making Tails cover his sensitive ears.

"I. Hid. It." Sonic answered easily, looking arrogantly down at his fingernails. "Figured you should play a round with us. What better way to get you on board than to hide something that you'll never give up looking for?"

"You… _blue bastard_…" The insult was forced through clenched teeth, hands balled into equally tight fists. "Just wait until I knock out those teeth of yours…"

"Ah ah," Sonic tutted, waving a finger in the air. "You can't hurt me, Knux. If you do, how will you ever find out where the M.E. is, hm?"

Knuckles scoffed low in his throat, rolling his eyes. "I can sense it, you idiot, or did you forget?"

"Oh no," Sonic shook his head, waving a hand towards Tails, who looked more confused than anyone. "Tails invented some type of blanket that blocks Chaos Energy. You wouldn't be able to find the rock even if you tried."

Knuckles didn't respond, just closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the large energy spike that signaled the Master Emerald.

Silence followed.

_Crap_, Knuckles thought to himself, grinding his teeth, _he's right. I can't sense it at all_.

"Where is it?" His voice was less than civil, but it had a restrained edge that was lacking earlier.

"Mushroom Hill," Sonic answered, waving a hand in the general direction of the Zone. "Good luck," he continued, watching Knuckles turn to stalk away. "You don't get a Bounce Bracelet this time, but you should still try your best!"

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! Expect the next two within the hour. <em>

_Review please.  
><em>


	2. Set in Her Sights & Smoke and Ashes

**Don't Take Wooden Nickles  
><strong>_2: Set in Her Sights  
>3: Smoke and Ashes<br>__**NOTES**__: You get two this time, because both are too short to be posted by themselves. The first is a Rouge study written for a friend who wanted to try doing her voice as well as an excuse for me to try my hand at her. It's the first time I've written her, so I'm sorry if she's out of character.  
>The second is a practice on Blaze mainly, because I had only written her once before. Silver tagged along because he likes to stalk Blaze around fanfiction.<em>

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><p><em>Set in Her Sights<em>

"C'mon big boy, what's a cutie like you doing with a nice gem like that?"

Knuckles twitched as the bat strutted her way up to the Emerald shrine. "Rouge."

"Is that all I get, Knuckles?" She pouted. "A simple_ 'Rouge_'. I _knoooow_ you like me more than that."

Knuckles didn't answer.

"Ya know Knuckles, you're just one big sour puss. You need to buck up buttercup!" Her voice was sarcastic as she trilled the supposed to be upbeat saying off her tongue. Still, Knuckles was silent. "Well then, Mr. grumpy gus," was all she said before she casually strolled her way towards the Master Emerald, moving to run her hand down its green surface.

Knuckles moved faster than Rouge could blink and she was up in the air and across the clearing before she could make a sound. Rouge wasn't one to be knocked down emotionally however and it didn't take her long to move back up to the shrine.

"Well, well," she purred, stalking around the red one. "Feisty." She gazed at the Master Emerald. "You know, big boy, you seem to be confused. I thought diamonds were a girl's best friend."

"Good thing the Master Emeralds not a diamond then," was the only answer she received.

The bat waved her hand. "Just a case of mistaken identity."

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><p><em>Smoke and Ashes<em>

"I won't give up!" Blaze mumbled as she glared across the checkerboard at Silver. Her hedgehog pal had his fingers steepled and he was staring at the playing pieces like they were the most important thing in the world. "Ya'know Silver," she muttered, attempting to distract him. "If you stare any harder, your eyes may cross."

The other raised his eyes towards her, making them meet in the middle in the process. "See." She laughed, waving a hand towards his face.

"Haha," was he muttered before finally making his move without touching the board.

Blaze couldn't help but roll her eyes at the obvious show-offyness he was displaying. _Well, at least he's not moving his hands around..._ "Showing off, are we?" She still felt the need to bait him though. "That's bad for the ego, my friend." She swiftly jumped his black piece, moving her red one further towards him.

Silver didn't reply, simply made his next move without looking away from her. She sighed and moved as well.

"So, how's life?" Silver asked as he gazed at the board once more, almost twitching at the lack of black pieces present.

"You know," Blaze answered, only half listening, planning her next move. "Pretty slow now that Sonic handles everything."

Silver finally moved another piece. "What about the Emeralds?"

"The Sol Emeralds?" He nodded.

"With Knuckles." She easily jumped two more of his pieces, effectively landing on his border. "King me."

The hedgehog pouted a second before following her command. The battle after that was swift and ruthless. The ending result was Blaze with her one king against Silver's one normal piece. Blaze easily out maneuvered him, jumping over his black plastic circle with no problems.

The hedgehog stared at the board, dumbfounded. "How...?"

Blaze just rolled her eyes before pushing away from the table. "Because, Silver dear," she answered, giving him a sisterly kiss on the top of his head. "Smoke may come before fire, but guess which does the most lasting damage?"

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><p><em>Hope you enjoyed!<em>

_Review please?_


	3. Points System

**Don't Take Wooden Nickles  
><strong>_4: Points System  
><em>_**NOTES:**__ This one was written mainly as a battle practice, but it kinda took on a life of its own. I'm sorry if it seems rushed, but I'm mainly going for entertainment value, not quantity or quality. These are meant for practices and experiments, not fully flung novels with expressed plots and developed characters. With that in mind, enjoy some Sonic and Tails goodness. _

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><p>"Tails, get down!" Sonic's voice came from somewhere behind him, and Tails wasted no time dropping to the ground, pressing his nose into the dirt and feeling his stomach dig into the gravel. Suddenly, something landed on his back, knocking the breath out of his lungs and making him gasp aloud. Around him, an explosion – so violent that only a Chaotic Missile could have created it – blasted around him, showering him with dirt and disintegrated plant particles.<p>

"Sonic," the fox croaked, wiggling a bit after the debris had stopped falling, "I appreciate you trying to play big brother and all, but would you please _get off_?"

Above him, the load on his back disappeared and a thick hand grabbed his left arm and hauled him up. "Sorry kiddo," Sonic apologized, dusting dirt out of the kit's fur. "My protective instinct went into overdrive when I saw the missile and I couldn't stop until I was shielding you."

"Yeah, yeah," Tails answered, turning roughly away from the hedgehog and stalking back in the direction he had been going before.

Tails was not a happy fox. Just this morning, he had been working happily on a new bomb prototype – this one with a timer instead of a fuse – and was simply enjoying the calm of the morning. Sonic had been in his room, sleeping off a fight he had gotten into the previous night with a certain red echidna, and snoring so loudly that Tails could hear it in his soundproof workshop. The morning had continued in the same relaxed manner, only one stray bomb blast to break Tails' leisure.

Of course, that same blast woke Sonic, because the hedgehog had an inner equilibrium that was easily upset despite his heavy sleeping habits. Even though the Workshop was a living above ground bunker, and a single sound wave or shake to the foundation didn't escape Tails' inner blast chamber, Sonic's extremities still picked it up, his inner ear waking him. He stormed down the stairs in a blur, grabbing Tails out of the blast proof glass and slamming him against a wall, placing his body between the both of them.

"Sonic," Tails had breathed, his small, eight-year-old lungs struggling to pull oxygen in. "In case you haven't noticed, the explosion is over. For once in your life, you're too late."

"Ouch," Sonic muttered back, pushing himself off the wall. "That hurt my pride."

Tails hadn't replied, simply brushing past Sonic's semi-shocked face and back into the blast chamber. Sonic had stalked away, back into the kitchen, mumbling about breakfast. Tails didn't bother informing him that it was one o'clock.

Thirty minutes later, Eggman attacked, and Sonic had half-dragged Tails out of the house, into the _Tornado_ and across the water to Station Square. Eggman had pulled out all the stops this time, attacking the city with every Eggpawn he had managed to build since their last battle months ago. He didn't seem to have a specific plan this time, and he gave off the air as just wanting to get a little exercise, so to speak. The people needed to remember exactly who he was.

That being said, the battle had lasted three hours so far, more robots dropping from the sky at steady intervals, like they were constantly being manufactured on a floating base. Somehow, Sonic had managed to lure Robotnik towards and empty field to the north of the city, and the duration of the battle was being fought there. Tails was getting fed up at eating dirt every two minutes because Sonic seemed to be overly protective of him lately, and Eggman was nowhere to be seen.

His day had quickly taken a downward turn with no ground in sight.

"So, Sonic, do you have a plan?" The fox asked as said blue hedgehog jogged to catch up with him.

"Nah," Sonic answered, lacing his hands behind his head as he walked. Around them, bombs slammed into ground, kicking up dirt and blocking out the sunlight. "Figured I'd wing it."

"So, same deal as always?" Tails asked as an Eggpawn popped out of the ground in front of them. Fluidly, Tails snapped his fingers, making a bomb pop out of the hidden compartment in his gloves, snapping together into a round black shape with a two-tailed insignia decorating both sides. Compressing a red button on the top, a loud beeping sounded, making Sonic's ears go to high alert. Quickly, Tails bent down and rolled the bomb along the ground. It exploded five seconds later, taking the robot with it, but, by that time, Tails was in the air with Sonic grasping the fox's ankles for dear life.

"Yep," Sonic answered Tails' earlier question, watching as more 'pawns hopped out of the ground at the explosion. "Two points per 'bot. Five if you get two with one try."

"Hm. And Eggers?"

"Depending on how bad of a name he comes up with for his newest death machine, I'd say about ten points."

"Only ten?"

"Well, maybe fifteen, but only if his mustache is expertly trimmed."

Tails seemed to think about this for a few seconds before nodding. "Seems fair."

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><p><strong><em>Review please?<em>**


	4. Wit

**Don't Take Wooden Nickles  
><strong>_5: Wit  
><strong>NOTES: <strong>This one I found hiding in my computer. I don't remember much about what I was going for, but it's just the same. More Sonic and Tails goodness, because I love their brotherly relationship. Enjoy. _

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><p>Sonic sighed as he walked his way into the living room, the morning sunlight streaming through the open window warming the whole house to a comfortable temperature. His socked feet made no noise on the carpet and his recently gloved hands were laced behind his head in a pose of pure relaxation. He was well rested all the way down to his bones and was currently filled with an extreme love for life and the simple joys it brought. The hedgehog moseyed his way through the house slowly, and the very nature of his movements would have seemed foreign to anyone who even knew him remotely but he was content and that was all that mattered really.<p>

The scene he strolled into was one of familiarity. His little fox brother was sitting in the middle of the room, tail deep in a sea of electronic parts, the video game console Sonic had bought three days prior cracked open a few feet away as a silent witness. His young charge was currently tinkering with what looked like the motherboard for the complex system, his nimble fingers working their way through fragile circuitry with a kind of gracefulness that only he seemed to possess. His tails twitched appreciatively and animatedly, never stilling for a moment no matter what emotion the fox was feeling. His blue eyes shone with some hidden emotion, and a small smile graced his face as his fingers extracted a small piece of fiber optic.

A magnifying glass appeared next, held up to golden face with no space between it and a small black nose. The fox squinted at the small piece of hardware, his large brain easily categorizing each dip and curve in the chip before he placed the instrument down and replaced the piece before extracting another.

Sonic watched him for a half a minute before coughing deeply in his throat to get the kit's attention. Ears snapped to attention but there was no movement towards the blue one past that, as the fox seemed to be absorbed by his work. Hedgehog eyes narrowed and their owner wasted no time dashing around the room so he was on the other side of the couch and able to see over the fox's shoulder.

"What'cha up to, Tailsy?" The tone was nonthreatening and wistful, but the young one jumped just the same.

Blue eyes turned to the speaker, wide and innocent. "S-Sonic-kun…" The fox mumbled, affixing one of the honorifics he had learned from some human study he had read on the computer to his name. "I thought you were still asleep…"

"I _was_." The hedgehog answered, walking smoothly around the fox. "But I'm not anymore."

"I see…"

"So, do I wanna know what exactly our new video game system did to you? Don't tell me you got angry at a game…"

"Uh…" The fox mumbled his brain racing for excuses. "It… um… _looked _at me funny?" Seeing his companion's expression, he quickly amended with: "It's human made and I wanted to see how it works."

"Uh huh," was all he got in response. "I trust it will be fixed by the end of the day?"

"Well…" Tails' tone was dubious. "Depends on what you mean by _fixed_; it was pretty broken already before I got my hands on it."

There was a pause.

"I love ya, li'l bro'!" The fox yelped as he was suddenly scooped into an unexpected hug. "Especially when you're wit shines through!"

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><p><strong><em>Review please?<em>**


	5. Interlude: 100 Themes Challenge: 1 to 4

**Don't Take Wooden Nickles**

_Interlude - 100 Themes: 1 - 4_

_**Notes**_: _I started up on the 100 Themes Challenge (for the third time). I'm shooting for the 100 word mark with all of these, but that pretty much got shot out of the water with the first one. So, they're just a way for me to keep writing in between chapters and such. Originally, these were supposed to be posted in groups of ten, but then I cut that down to five. THEN, I got writers block on the fifth, so I just decided to screw it and post the four I have. Enjoy! _

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><p>1. <em>Introduction<em>

There were three things that Sonic loved more than anything in the world.

One was running.

"_I'm Sonic!"_

The second was chili dogs.

"_Sonic the Hedgehog!"_

The third was introducing himself with a smile and a thumbs up.

2. _Love_

Amy Rose was utterly convinced that she was in love with Sonic the Hedgehog. Her heart fluttered when she saw him, her breath sped up when he got near, and she felt faint when she saw him run into danger.

She had also encouraged herself to believe that Sonic loved her back. He would randomly bring her flowers, and he seemed happy every time she smiled at him.

Yes, she and Sonic were soul mates. She repeated this to herself time and time again, cementing the idea into her brain.

So, why was it that she doubted herself late at night, when she should be sleeping?

3. _Light_

Light came in many forms and spectrums. There was visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared light. Numerous variations of these light waves allowed lasers and TVs to function. All light was harmless, unless you were prone to sunburn.

Yet, lightning scared Tails to death.

Sure, it wasn't officially _light_, but it was close enough that his mind categorized it as such. He could feel its energy deep in his core every time it struck near him and it made him quake.

"C'mere kiddo," Sonic mumbled, pulling the fox close to him. "Lemme tell you the story of how Chaos helped shaped the planet."

Tails stared at his friend, listening intently to the fairy tale, as rain pounded on the windows. Sonic's eyes glowed when he told this story, like he believed it with his whole being. His body always seemed to be lit from the inside, like all of the Chaos Energy that ran through his veins was struggling to get out.

But, unlike the lightning, this light filled Tails with strength.

4. _Dark_

Knuckles loved the dark. His night vision was excellent and his senses were at their highest peak, always ready to alert him to danger. The Island was at its serenest in the dark, all of its feral inhabitants asleep or softly shuffling through the underbrush. The faintest of swishes was usually the only sound, alerting a trained ear to an owl circling slowly overhead.

Yes, Knuckles adored the dark. It allowed him to relax, enjoy his life, and forget his duty for a few precious hours.

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><p><em>Yeah, I avoided the obvious choice of Dark Sonic on number four, so sue me. <em>

_Review?_


	6. Guardian

_Don't Take Wooden Nickels_

_6: Guardian_

_**Notes:**_ _Okay guys, in case you haven't already picked up on this, I really really really really really really __**love**__ the brotherly relationship thing that Sonic and Tails have going on. It's just a relationship I've been able to identify with since I first saw Tails in Sonic 2. Of course, I was born in 1993, and the game came out in November of 1992, and I didn't get a chance to play said game and comprehend it until about 1998, but, still, I love the relationship. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I saw Sonic X. Greatly disappointed was I. Of course, Sonic X is in no way canon with the games, _but still. _It kinda offended me. There was this prefect relationship totally fleshed out in the games and everything and you go and replace an existing character with one decidedly less furry, who whines every chance he gets, is totally useless, should die a fiery death for kidnapping Sonic in that one episode, totally looks nothing like Maria (what, is Shadow BLIND? At least they used a female (Amy) to talk Shadow down in Adventure 2. I can totally see that. But a male pansy? Psh. No.), and OH YEAH! isn't even _MOBIAN._ You disappoint me, anime makers. _

_Yes, I'm a Chris hater. But, then again, you can't exactly like something that's nothing more than a plot device. (I'm also an Archie hater, but that is of little importance at this moment in time.) Anyway, I'm on a tangent. Sonic and Tails' brotherly relationship was something that I had originally wished for when my sister was born, but we fight too much for that to be conceivable. So, I write about it. _

_Also, this one's placed in Sonic X (though, some things have been modified, like the planet Sonic and co. come from is now called Mobius instead of just, ya'know _'Our Planet'_ or whatever), season… whenever they're still on Earth. I'm pretty sure that's one and two. Somewhere in that timeline._

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><p>"<em>This just in! We have received news that an unknown government faction has kidnapped Miles "Tails" Prower off the streets of Station Square! The young fox was busy getting supplies for one of his many projects, and was just minding his own business when a strange black SUV pulled up next to the sidewalk where he carried his bags back towards the Thorndyke household. Someone opened the door and reached out, grabbing him and pulling him roughly inside. Various witnesses have testified to his resisting arrest, and the men simply knocked him out before driving away."<em>

o0o

"_It has been sixteen hours since Tails, sidekick to Sonic the Hedgehog, was kidnapped right off the sidewalk in the middle of Station Square. All of the fox's friends have declined to comment and Sonic hasn't been seen since the young boy has gone missing."_

o0o

"So, do we know where they're keeping Tails?" Chris asked, crossing his arms and attempting to look commanding as he stared at a map of Station Square.

"Yes, let's glare it down. Maybe the street we're looking for will start blinking a bright red color!" Sonic mumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. It had been almost two days since Tails had gone missing and Sonic was starting to get fed up with everyone around him. Chuck was doing his best to find the young fox, but the man had minimal connections within the part of the government that was to blame for Tails' kidnapping. However, the man had been hopeful this morning after he had gotten off the phone with a unanimous connection. Just a few minutes ago, he had called everyone into the dining room for a group meeting.

Chris looked extremely downtrodden at Sonic's sharp response, but he did his best to keep the hurt expression from crossing his face.

"Ignore Sonic, Chris. He might not show it most of the time, but Tails is the most important person in his life. The fact that he doesn't know where he is makes him think he's failed as a big brother and guardian." Amy spoke with authority, smacking Sonic lightly on the head as she came into the room with Cream and Cheese in tow. Sonic merely scowled at the other hedgehog before reaching up and rubbing his temples with his index and middle fingers.

"Wait, you're Tails guardian?" Chuck asked as he followed Cream quietly, a thick stack of paper in his hands. "I thought none of you had any official guardianship."

"Not in so many words, Chuck." Sonic answered shortly. "But, I'm the one that paid for most of the Workshop he decided to build, so I'm as close to a guardian that he's gonna get. Plus, he's my lil' bro'."

Amy choked, gasping in shock. "You _paid_ for the Workshop? Where'd you get the money? It had to cost at least five thousand Mobiums to build that place! "

Sonic scowled. "Where I get money isn't important right now." He turned to Chuck with an expectant look on his face. "You got anything new?"

"Actually, yes. Turns out, Tails was taken across the country, to a government base known as Fort Warner." Flipping through the hefty heap of paper in his hands, the human yanked out a random piece, shoving it under Sonic's nose. "The coordinates are on that, as well as as much information as I could dig up on the place, which wasn't much. It's an advanced government base, filled with all kinds of traps and high-tech security. The only hope we have of getting in is by dropping in, but the base is secured as much in the air as it on the ground and the only one capable to out-maneuver trained fighter pilots is Tails."

"Sonic can fly the _Tornado_." Amy cut in, taking a small pile of the papers and flipping through them as well. "It was originally his after all. I'm sure that Tails taught him how to pilot the _X-Tornado_ on one of those nights they were both suffering from insomnia." Lately, both Sonic and Tails were prone to disappear at random times throughout the night. No one knew where they were going, and when they got back, both pleaded the inability to sleep and the need to run/fly. It wasn't uncommon for the fox to accompany his best friend on his daily runs, but it had become sort of a rare thing here on Earth.

"Mr. Sonic took me flying the other day in the _Tornado_." Cream put in helpfully, hugging Cheese close to her chest. "He showed me the mountains and we landed in a field of flowers. I got enough to make at least twenty flower crowns!"

Suddenly aware of her presence, Chuck tensed up and turned to Chris. "You hear that Chris? Why don't you go with Cream and let her show you? I bet the flowers are very pretty!"

Chris opened his mouth to object, but one look at his grandfather's and Amy's faces made him snap his mouth closed and sigh. Dejectedly, he took Cream's hand and led her out of the room, attempting to make cheerful, if distracting, conversation about the differences between Cosmos and Roses.

"Now," Chuck began once the door had swung shut behind the duo, "it's good that Sonic can fly the _X-Tornado_, but who will control it when he goes in to get Tails, hm? He can't very well fly _and_ fight."

Amy seemed stumped at this. "Um… I'm sure we'll think of something. What do you think, Soni-?" She trailed off as she turned to address the blue hero, but was just awarded with the sight of an empty chair where he had once been sitting. "Where did he…?"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth did a small sonic boom announce the re-arrival of the hero. He threw the door open and sauntered in, looking to all the world like one of the cockiest individuals in the world. Smoothly, he slipped past Amy and hopped back into his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. "Proceed."

The pink hedgehog gave her wanna-be boyfriend a strange look. Nevertheless, there were more important matters to deal with, and she moved on. "Um, you can fly the _X-Tornado, _right?"

"Sure, sure. It's not that different from the _Tornado_, if you can get past all the extraneous buttons and dials."

"Uh huh…" Amy didn't sound convinced. "Do you think you could fly it to get yourself into the base and then somehow land and go get Tails?"

"That won't be necessary."

"What? Why?"

"Two reasons." So saying, Sonic held up two fingers, his thumb and pointer finger. "One, the _X-Tornado_ has an auto-pilot installed, and, two…" He paused, as if for dramatic effect, and zipped across the room, throwing open the door he had just walked through a few minutes earlier. "Come on in, little buddy."

Much to Amy and Chuck's shock, a windblown, but otherwise uninjured fox kit stumbled his way into the room. His eyes were wide and he looked like he hadn't eaten in two days, but he still had a small smile on his face.

"No one can say that I'm a horrible guardian." Sonic mumbled, throwing an arm around Tails' shoulders and towing him towards the kitchen. "C'mon kiddo, let's get some food into you."

Amy and Chuck watched them leave, the latter with an expression of shock coloring his face.

"How…?" The human seemed speechless.

"Sonic and Knuckles are more alike than they think." Amy said in way of answer, watching the two brothers jostle each other and joke back and forth about who had the most jail/kidnap time under their belt. "They both have treasures to guard." With that, she rushed to catch up to the hedgehog and fox, begging to hear the story of Sonic's heroic rescue.

* * *

><p><em>Who needs a plan when you're Sonic the Hedgehog, amirite?<br>_

_Yeah, I realize that the whole "government kidnapping scheme" thing is really weak, but I didn't have anything else and I really wanted to get this written. Let it by please?_

_Also, I have no idea how much it costs to build any type of building and I'm too lazy to look it up, so let's say that we have no idea how much a Mobian is worth and that 5,000 of them for anything is a lot, kay?_

_Now, please review?_


	7. SubSpace

_Don't Take Wooden Nickels_

_7: Sub-Space_

_**Notes:**__ This one is based in the universe of a story me and _Yami-sama42_ are writing called _When All is Lost, Hope is Born _– posted on our group account, _Hikami42_ (link on my profile!). I'm very much a fangirl for this story, even though I'm one of the writers, and I very much enjoy the premise of it. There's a lot of unexplored material we have in this story and little to no time to express it, so I write oneshots. _

_**THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW**__:_

_1. This story starts off with Sonic dying. Now, before you storm off, you should know that he's not gone for long (he comes back before the prologue is over with). _

_2. Because he has kicked the bucket, Sonic's soul realizes that he's still needed, so, in some fancy-smancy spirit mumbo-jumbo, Sonic's spirit attaches itself to his favorite mobiusly (earthly) object – no not his chili dogs – his shoes. Whoever wears the shoes has the ability to converse with and touch Sonic's spirit. _

_3. Tails, in a fit of sentimentality, puts on said sneakers and he can now talk to Sonic. No one else can see the hedgehog, and he can't touch anyone else. He also can barely touch regular objects as well, unless he concentrates his energy reserves into doing so. (Thus, Sonic is essentially useless.)_

_4. Because he can use his energy to react with the living world, he can eat and sleep. (Don't question it.)_

_5. (Last one) Everyone in the story has been aged substantially. Tails is 15, Sonic is 23. _

_Enjoy_!

* * *

><p>"Sonic!" Tails called into the house, cupping his hands around his mouth to create an organic megaphone. His head swept back and forth, looking for his possibly invisible friend, while his tails waved merrily behind him.<p>

"Yo, Tails." The fox couldn't help but jump as Sonic appeared in front of him – lying in the air on his belly with his head propped up with his palms – in full translucent glory. "What'cha need?"

"_Sonic!_" Tails hissed, his hands snatching at his chest and taking a deep breath to slow his increased heartbeat. "Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry kiddo," the ghost of the hedgehog flipped over onto his back and backstroked his way through the living room wall and into the kitchen, "I forget that I don't make noise anymore."

Tails just shook his head and followed his friend into the kitchen through the door. Once inside, he moved over to the table and pulled on a small, red vest, reaching into the pockets and taking stock of everything that was currently weighing the article of clothing down. "Well, try to remember," was all he said as he finished feeling around inside his pockets.

Sonic grunted, un-committing and almost uncaring, before shoving his whole upper body through the refrigerator door and rummaging around inside the cold for a few seconds. When he was done, he pulled his head back out, sending a beseeching look at his still-living friend. "Do your favorite person a favor and open the door, would you?"

Tails sighed, deciding not to snark back with a witty response and did what was asked of him. The hedgehog grinned, leaning around the fox and grabbing a can of soda out, his whole being flickering as he did so. However, almost as soon as the flashing started, it stopped and his hand looked almost solid as he popped the tab and threw back a hearty swing. "Ah, Chaos Cola… That's that stuff."

"Well, hurry up and finish. I need to go." Tails _tsk_ed low in his throat, fumbling around in his pockets once again. "Where did I put those keys?" This was mumbled, but Sonic heard it nonetheless.

"They're on the entryway table." He answered, taking another drink of his cola. "Where're we going?"

"_We_ aren't going anywhere." The kitsune answered, jamming his fists into his hips. "_I'm_ going into Station Square to get some groceries. _You_ are staying here."

Sonic's mouth dropped open at that, and a startled noise ejected its way from his throat without his consent. "Wh-what? You can't leave me here!" Suddenly, his face fell into a smug expression as his brain came upon a realization. "I'll just follow you!"

"Which," Tails began, his own face mirroring that of his friend, "is why I'm leaving _these_," he motioned down at what had previously been Sonic's red and white sneakers, but now belonged fully and totally to the fox, "here."

Green hedgehog eyes widened and his threw his hands out, soda can forgotten as its contents went splashing onto the floor. "No! Tails, don't do that! What'll I do while you're gone? !"

"Not my problem." Tails chose to take the tough-love route. "The last time you went to the store with me, you nearly made me spend three hundred Mobiums more than I _needed_ to!"

"B-but, we were out of chili! And I can't make chili dogs without chili!"

"You can't make _anything_! You can barely hold a cola can in your hand without dropping it!"

"That's totally not the point and you know it!"

"You know what-!" The fox cut himself off and he shook his head. "I'm leaving." Curt and to the point, the fancy flier turned on his heel, making his way towards the door.

"No! Tails, don't! C'mon! I promise I'll be good! And, I won't put stuff into the cart this time! Lemme come, please? Please? Please? Please? I promise! Don't leave me! Be a sport! Take me wi-"

"I'm sorry, Sonic," Tails had unbuckled the sneakers, and Sonic's form was already looking foggy around the edges, "but I can't deal with this today."

"-mise! Don't, dude, don't! C'mon, I already died! The least you can do is let me go to the store!" Tails' apology went unheard as Sonic just plowed ahead with his pleading, helping to keep the fox firm on his decision. "I need to get out of his house! What if I just follow along invisibly? You won't even know I'm there! Just don't leave me here, pleas-!" He was cut off as the yellow Mobian slipped his feet out of the sneakers. The hedgehog's eyes went wide and his form flickered once or twice before disappearing completely.

With a sigh, Tails shoved his feet into his own sneakers, grabbed his keys, and pushed his way out of the door, making sure to lock it on his way out.

o0o

Sonic slammed into the gray netherworld of limbo with little grace, landing right on his face. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing his nose. Around him, the gray space greeted him by humming politely. The sound made the hedgehog's insubstantial ears prick and he groaned again, but for a different reason.

The sub-space he went to when his shoes weren't being worn was a dreary place. It was a small, cubic room with gray walls and fog hovering a few inches off the floor. The room was illuminated by no noticeable source, and the walls always seemed to get closer together every time he came here. There was no form of entertainment, other than the hedgehog's own thoughts, and nothing to stare at but gray and the insides of his eyelids. For the hyperactive speedster, this place truly was hell on Mobius.

_The only way this place could get more boring is if Knuckles were here. _Sonic thought to himself, chuckling as he pictured the Master Emerald Guardian sitting in a corner, meditating and trying to tap in with the Chaos Energies in the room.

_There aren't any, Chaos Energies that is_. Sonic had already tried to get in touch with any type of foreign energy spikes, hoping to at least have a ball of Chaos Energy to play around with, but no dice so far.

With a sigh, Sonic leaned backward onto his back, getting ready to be in this room for a while. Time passed differently in this place, and five minutes could seem like five days to the cobalt mammal. Closing his eyes, Sonic pictured small, Shadow-esque sheep in his mind and started to count them as they hopped over a small piece of fence, lulling himself to sleep.

o0o

Sonic awoke after what seemed like hours. He sat up, stretching his incorporeal form and attempting to pop bones that weren't there. His eyes opened slowly, and he was slightly put off to see that he was still in the little gray room. Grumbling to himself, he stood before leaning into a lunge to stretch his calf muscles.

Switching sides, he tried to figure out some way to keep himself occupied. Once he was successfully stretched, he backed up until he felt the tips of the quills on his back touch the wall of this small space. Then, with a small smile, he boosted forward, praying to Chaos that he didn't slam into the adjacent wall.

Chaos didn't seem to be listening today however, and Sonic connected with the wall seconds later at full speed. He fell backward onto his back, wheezing and trying to catch his breath.

He didn't move again after that.

o0o

After what seemed like a lifetime – and after completing a full seventy-six rounds of I Spy with himself – Sonic suddenly felt a pull on his abdomen, and the next thing the hedgehog knew, he was stumbling back into existence on the physical plane.

He landed on his face again, but this time on the soft carpet in the living room of Tails' Workshop, so he was willing to accept the humiliation. His ears picked up a soft giggling sound and he turned his head so he could see the source of the laughter, pressing his ear into the soft carpet instead of his nose.

"Hey, lil'bro."

"Hi Sonic," Tails answered, reaching down and fastening Sonic's sneakers tighter around his feet. "Did you enjoy your vacation?"

"If by 'vacation' you mean 'forced punishment worse than death', then I suppose I did. I got a nice nap in." False bravado colored the blue one's tone and Tails chuckled to himself while a single eyebrow rose on his face.

"Well then, maybe I'll just send you back. I have work to do on the Tornado today and…" He trailed off, leaning over as if to take the shoes off again.

"_What_?" Emerald colored eyes widened and suddenly Sonic was grabbed at Tails' arms pleadingly. "N-no! Don't! I'll do anything! Just don't send me back there!"

"_Anything_?" Small fox teeth were flashed as the two-tailed wonder smiled evilly.

Sonic gulped, but nodded nonetheless.

* * *

><p><em>And that was how Tails got suitable blackmail material for any occasion. <em>

_Oh, and Sonic's I Spy game went as follows (one long phrase, spoken by Sonic): "I spy something gray. *pause* Fog. *pause* I spy something wispy. *pause* Yacker? *pause* No. *pause* Oh, fog then." Lather, rinse, repeat.  
><em>

_Yeah, sudden ending, but I got my point across, so I'm happy. _

_Review please?_


	8. Generations

_**Don't Take Wooden Nickels**_

_**8: **_**Generations**

_Notes: "What-if, after traveling all the way to the present, Classic Sonic and Tails can't get back to their own time at the end of Generations?" _

_Answer: This. _

_Okay guys, I can flat out tell you that I have no idea how Sonic Generations ends (it's a shock that any of us knows how it starts, considering how tight-lipped SEGA is about the whole thing), and this whole thing is a what-if I've been sitting on for a while now. It's not supposed to be taken seriously, especially in regards to the actual game. _

_Oh and Classic Sonic can now speak! HUZZAH! I'm not dealing with the telepathic link he and Classic Tails possibly share… Because there's no other explanation as to how Tailsy is speaking for him… (Yeah, I know body language and a possible thought-decoder thing can be considered, but c'mon, the kid is like four.) Deal with it. _

_I realize that this is pretty plot-less. I know. Don't tell me. Just enjoy it. _

_More than likely, I will be doing a Theme Challenge (50, 100, 200, or otherwise) with this scenario or I will be expanding it into a full-fledged story, because I enjoy writing it. _

_Enjoy!_

_(P.S. Anyone else find it extremely strange that SEGA's trying to stick _Sonic CD_ in between __(game timeline wise)__ the first two episodes of Sonic 4? That's just... wow... 2010 game, 1993 game, 2012 game... Doesn't make sense to me.)  
><em>

* * *

><p>An explosion woke Sonic in the morning.<p>

Though, it didn't wake him all the way. His right ear simply flickered upward as the foundation rattled a bit before he grumbled and turned over, burying his face further into his green pillow. His sleep afterward was fitful, mainly because he couldn't fall back into dreamland with all of the sounds of banging and tinkering that sounded after the smoke had cleared. He flipped over onto his other side, rubbing at his eyes and mumbling curses under his breath.

"TAILS!" He yelled, throwing his pillow towards his feet. "Shut the door to the Workshop!"

"_Can't!_" The fox's voice filtered up seconds later, unhindered by the walls it had to travel through. "_Too much smoke!_"

"Argh…" Sonic tried once again to fall back asleep, flipping onto his belly, but he knew he was pretty much done snoozing for the moment. "Stupid kid… Why must he tinker this early in the morning?" Sitting up fully, he glanced at the clock, scowling at the green numbers. Placing his feet on the floor, he leaned down and groped around under the frame of bed, searching for his shoes. When his hunt for his sneakers turned up nothing decidedly red, shiny, or buckle-able, he scowled again.

"Tails!" He called again, standing fully and starting towards the door. "Don't tell me that smoke has something to do with my sneakers!" Silence followed the yell and Sonic's face fell into an unmasked expression of annoyance. "They better be in one piece by the time I make it down there!"

A crashing sound bounced its way up the stairs, signaling the fox's rush to stitch back together the soles of Sonic's prized trainers. Sonic sighed, giving the kid a benefit of the doubt and stalked his way down the hall, passing the bathroom and banging on the door to the guest room. "T2, Lil' S!" He called, hitting his fist against the wood a few more times for good measure. "It's time to face another day!"

A thump on the other side of the door signaled that one of the occupants was up and moving, and would no doubt wake the other within a few minutes if he wasn't up already, and Sonic turned away, walking back down the hall and slipping into the bathroom to splash some water onto his face and to brush his teeth.

Minty breath thusly achieved, Sonic pushed his way back into the hall, almost running into a small ball of yellow fluff moseying its way towards the stairs. The glob of fuzz looked half asleep, and didn't even seemed jarred as Sonic wiggled his way around him to keep from knocking the small being to the ground.

"G'morning mini-lil'bro." Sonic's voice jolted the little one out of his trance however, and he nearly jumped a foot in the air, his tails going rigged behind him.

"S-Sonic?" His voice shook as he looked up at the larger hedgehog, his dark eyes going wide.

"Hey there, lil' Tails." The blue one answered, bending down and scooping the smaller one into his arms. "How are you this fine morning?" Seeing the small four year old always seemed to make the young adult's mood pick up for the better, even if it had started off worse for wear. "Where's Little Blue?"

"I'm fine," the small fox answered, settling into the thin arms of his older protector. "And, last I saw, the other Sonic was looking for his shoes."

"Hm…" Sonic placed one of his hands on his hip once he was sure his small charge was steady in his other arm. "Seems both me and the mini-me have been attacked by the same shoe stealing fairy…"

"Oh?" Sonic couldn't help but chuckle at the cute, inquisitive face the other adopted as he questioned the larger incarnation of his older brother.

"Yeah, he's got yellow fur, blue eyes, and two tails, just like yours."

"Oh." This time, the tone of voice was flat, almost like the younger Tails didn't approve of his older self stealing Sonic's belongings. "That would explain the explosion…"

Sonic narrowed his eyes, instincts flaring at possible foul play. "What do you know about the explosion?"

"Uh…" The four year old squirmed, attempting to slip out of his friend's arms. "It was too short and contained to do any lasting damage… So, it was intentional, probably to test the fire-resistant polymer the older me was talking about developing…"

"Ah…" Sonic trailed off. He had almost forgotten how unknowingly _smart_ Tails had been at that age. "Okay…"

The younger Tails opened his mouth to speak, but someone stomping up the stairs made him snap his mouth closed.

"Speak of the devil…" Sonic trailed off, catching sight of the newcomer as he rounded the corner. The thirteen year old fox was covered in soot and grease, making him look more black than gold, and he looked a little burnt around the edges, as if he had been too close to a blast of fiery substances. His bright blue eyes were rimmed in clean, gold fur, showing that he had at least been cautious and worn goggles.

"Tails…" Sonic's voice held the edge of a reprimand, and the fox froze with his foot halfway in the air. "What have I told you about setting off explosions inside the house?"

"Not to…" The fox answered, his voice coarse. Suddenly, his head snapped up and his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of his younger self still sitting in Sonic's arms. "But, I had this new blast-resistant polymer spray for your shoes, and I knew you wouldn't let me test it while you were awake and I didn't have time to get to the rock quarry and back to detonate before your alarm clock was set to go off, so I improvised and set off a small, controlled charge in the workshop; imagine my surprise when the smoke didn't get sucked out by the ventilation system and I had to move my experiment into the kitchen; the oven makes an amazing blast chamber, and the microwave is incredibly effective at heating things up to the proper temperature without having to guess like I always do in the worksh-"

"Woah, woah." Sonic was getting dizzy just listening to his charge speak. "You know you're supposed to breathe in the middle of sentences, right?" At the fox's nod, Sonic continued. "And what was that about the oven being a blast chamber?"

"Uh…" The older of the two fox's bit his lip, attempting to think quickly. "It contains an explosion very well."

"And how do you know this?" Sonic questioned after the fox had put forth no other information on his inquiry.

"I, um, might have – _accidentally_ – set off a small explosive inside it – with the door closed – to see if your shoes could survive in a small, closed environment."

"Tails…" Sonic trailed off, looking down at the small fox sitting in his arms. "How is it that you can overlook the most important variable in that experiment?"

Both kits cocked their heads to the side simultaneously. "What's that?" Both said at the same time, a breathy quality to their voices, as if they were excited to hear input from someone else in reference to an experiment.

"What does it matter if my shoes survive an explosion in a small closed environment… _if I can't_?" The hedgehog didn't mean for his voice to sound so harsh, but it still came out with a sharp edge.

Both boys winced and the younger finally managed to squirm his way out of the blue hero's arms. He hit the floor lightly before dashing his way over and hiding behind the back of his older self, attempting to conceal himself in the other's tails. The older allowed the smaller fox to cling to his back while he schooled his features into an unexpressive face. "You make a very important point, big bro." He said after a lengthy pause, weighing his words carefully. "I will have to take it into consideration next time I decide to directly disobey you even if I strongly believe that my experiment might very well prolong the life of your sneakers."

The hedgehog sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Tails, I could care less about my shoes. What if _you_ had gotten hurt in the blast? Or, if you had accidentally set the house on fire, huh? You know our insurance premium is already through the roof."

"Yeah, but the odds of something catching on fire with a skilled pyrotechnican controlling the explosives are very low and…" Catching sight of his friend's face, Tails let out a nervous laugh. "I won't do it again."

"Good, now… How about the three of us find the other me and we go survey the damage?" At two nods, the hedgehog grabbed the hand of the younger fox and nudged his own personal charge forward with his foot. "If anything blows up in my face because you didn't check for active sparks, I'll haunt you."

The blue eyed Tails looked like he was going to argue against Sonic's ghosty plan, but a voice from behind stopped them.

"Hey, have any of you seen my shoes? I've been looking all over and… Woah, what happened to _you_?" He had caught sight of the taller fox's crispy looking fur. "Did the oven explode in your face or something?"

Sonic's face fell into another scowl while the two double-tailed creatures fell against each other in laughter.

"Miles here," the green eyed Sonic pointed to his best friend, "decided that detonating explosives in the kitchen was a good idea."

"Hey now, there's no need to use my real name. It wasn't _that_ criminal of an offense. You blow up stuff all the time."

A scoff wormed its way up the older Sonic's throat without his permission. "That _stuff_ belongs to Robotnik and it is generally used for evil purposes."

"Yeah, but what about that time when you took his cell phone and sm-!" Sonic slapped a hand over the mouth of his little brother, silencing his words.

"That was a misunderstanding." He said in way of explanation to the other hedgehog and fox. After a beat, he let go of his friend and turned to the black eyed hedgehog. "Has T2 done anything possibly house-destroying yet?"

"Tails? Oh yeah. A few days before you showed up, he decided that lasers were a much needed accessory to the toaster. I'll never look at crispy bread the same way ever again."

"Oh, just wait until he decides that the bathroom needs a few adjustments…"

Both of the foxes scowled as the hedgehogs started to walk away, heading for the stairs, lost in their own conversation.

"Just for that," the older mumbled, leaning down and checking to make sure that the caretakers were going down the staircase, "I'm gonna give you the plans I had for an acid shooting refrigerator."

"Awesome." The smirk that decorated the smaller kit's features looked almost alien on his innocent face. "But, where do we get the aci-?"

"_TAILS!" _Two similar voices cut off the vulpine. One was older than the other, but they both defiantly belonged to one person: Sonic.

* * *

><p><em>Sudden ending. Horrible ending. Ugh. <em>

_Anyway, review please?_


	9. CrossExamination

_Don't Take Wooden Nickels_

_9: Cross-examination _

_Warnings: Character death and possible cuss words_

_**Notes:**__ Okay, my strong belief is that the present tense form of writing is a plague to literature. I absolutely hate it and I feel that it is cheater writing, but, lately, I've been reading a few stories written in present tense by someone who knows how to handle it properly, and I have come to not hate it so much. I decided to try my hand at it, and this is what I got. _

_**Dedication: **__This one goes out to _DanceDream, _an anonymous reviewer who has commented on every single chapter of this thing. I appreciate all of your kind words, and I wish that there was some way for me to reply to you personally! _

_**Disclaimer:**__ Any recognizable material belongs to SEGA and its affiliates. _

_**ALSO: **_That drabble series I said I would start based on drabble 8 – the one before this one (Generations) – is now posted. Go check it out! It's called _The Genesis of a Generation_

* * *

><p>When Knuckles steps off Angel Island – after landing it in its designated spot in Mystic ruins and throwing the bridge across the gap – he is slightly taken aback by the silence. There are no birds chirping, no humans mumbling about the relics, and even the water has seemed to silence its swooshing sounds.<p>

_Something is wrong here…_ He thinks to himself, his backbone tensing and his ears starting to ring at the silence. Slowly, he moves forward, wincing slightly at the sound his shoes make as they squash the grass underfoot. His eyes dart back and forth, attempting to catch any sign of movement. Usually, Sonic has greeted him by this time, Tails able to tell him that Angel Island has come in for a landing from his complication instruments scattered throughout the Ruins, but, the blue hedgehog is nowhere to be seen.

Easily, Knuckles tiptoes his way towards the Workshop, easing his way around trees and fragile plants, respecting the land like he always has. He comes upon the plateau that the Workshop is situated on and is about to climb the stairs to the top when a small voice stops him.

"Knuckles?" It asks, timid and frail. "What are you doing here?"

The echidna jumps, swinging around with a loud cry, ready to smash his fist into the snout of whoever dares to sneak up on him, but he stops himself once he lays eyes on who was speaking to him.

"T-Tails?" Slightly, he wonders how the fox managed to sneak up on him. His blue eyes are wide, staring at the balled hand that is inches from slamming into his forehead. "What're you doing, sneaking up on me like that? !"

"I'm s-sorry!" Young hands rise in defense while his voice stutters. "I thought you heard me!"

Slowly, Knuckles lowers his fist, wondering how exactly he _hadn't_ heard the kit. Tails wasn't precisely the quietest moving individual in the world, and Knuckles himself was known for having keen senses… "Where are you going?" Bypassing the current topic of discussion, the red one moves onto a different one. "And where's Sonic?"

"Oh, I'm heading… off… I have errands to run…" Knuckles picks up a tint of apprehension in the voice, and he notices the smallest of winces cross the face of his friend. "Sonic's up at the house…"

"Why isn't he going with you?" Despite himself, Knuckles can't help but be curious about the private life of Sonic the Hedgehog.

"He… um… has better things to do than follow me around…"

If Knuckles finds this response odd, he doesn't show it. "Well, would you like me to come with you?"

"N-no!" The word is yelled right in Knuckles' face, but the echidna doesn't flinch. "I-I mean… Why don't you go spend some time with Sonic? I'm sure that he would enjoy your company!" A false smile crosses his face.

"Kid…" The Guardian trails off, his heart jarring at how _wrong_ this situation was. "What's the matter? Is Sonic in trouble? Are _you_? Why are you leaving so suddenly? I think I need to come with you…"

"NO!" Tails' voice is more forceful this time, and he starts to back away from the red one, looking ready to bolt at a moment's notice. "Go up to the house! Sonic _needs_ you! And I need to _go_! Right now! Just go to the Workshop Knuckles! All of your questions will be answered there!" He turns on his heel and sprints off, heading in the direction of the train station. "I'm sorry Knuckles!" He yells over his shoulder. "Tell Sonic that I apologize for everything, and that he's the best big brother anyone could ever have! Tell him that nothing is his fault, and that I love him! Tell him he'll see me again before he knows it!" With that, the fox rushes off towards the train station and he disappears almost too quickly.

When Knuckles makes it to the top of the stairs, he is shocked at the sight that meets him. The Workshop is gone. All around him, scattered bits of shrapnel litter the ground, making a silent testament to what has transpired here. Mechanical parts, bits of broken glass, and sharp pieces of metal are scattered all around, and Knuckles bends down to pick up a piece that catches his eye.

He nearly drops it out of shock. Eggman's smiling, mustached insignia looks up at him, and his mind immediately puts together what has happened.

_A missile… shot straight at the Workshop_…

Movement to the right catches his attention and Knuckles lets the warped metal fall from his hands as he catches sight of Sonic, sitting in the middle of the now empty field. His face his downcast, but the stale, dry tear tracks on his face are clearly visible. His body quakes, silent spasms of grief wracking his frame and making him unable to move. He sits in front of a slab of granite, placed strategically right where the heart of the Workshop had once stood.

Timidly, Knuckles walks up behind Sonic, and he falls to his knees when he catches a good look at the rock hunk wedged into the ground. His hand reaches to grab Sonic's shoulder, offering as much comfort as he can in the small gesture but also using Sonic's shaking form for support. He stares at the chunk of stone not believing what he is seeing.

_Here lies Miles "Tails" Prower, beloved brother and friend. May his soul rest in peace._

* * *

><p><em>Oh my gosh. What have I done? !<em>

_Tails is my favorite character… WHY DID I DO THAT TO HIM? !_

_((mourns his loss))_

_See, this right here, this is why I shouldn't write in present tense. It makes me do bad things to characters that I love. _

_Review please?_

_Don't forget to check out _The Genesis of a Generation _too! _


	10. Thanks for the Memories

**Don't Take Wooden Nickels**

_10-18: Thanks for the Memories Bundle_

_Warnings: None_

_**Notes**__: __**VERY IMPORTANT STUFF **_About time I update this story, ne?

At the beginning of the year, I approached my best friend, Yami-sama42, with the idea that we write a 20th anniversary fanfic for Sonic. This was before Generations was released or even hinted at, so we came up with what we – at the time – thought was a genius plot. It had tons of allusions to obscure parts of the Sonic fandom, and was just an all around nostalgic blast. However, the story never got off the ground, and we just (today actually) declared that it was officially dead. There is no way (see: _no desire to_) that either of us could continue it without it getting in the way of either of our own projects or things we're planning together (like for instance, the _Sonic Generations_ adaptation we're planning out right now). So, now that it is dead, I can release some of the material from it in good conscience.

The things included in this post (besides being written completely by me) are a part of what we labeled 'memories' for lack of a better term. Basically, the story is one long race to get the Emeralds. Eggman tells Sonic that he has one month to prepare for the final battle between them. Both sides (Sonic's and Eggman's) amass their armies in this time period (with Sonic having all of his friends and Eggman with the Kukku Battle Army, Metal Sonic, and his battalion of robots) and search for the Chaos Emeralds. The 'memories' section comes into play when Eggman temporarily captures Sonic in an attempt to slow down his race for the Emeralds and puts him into a machine that makes him relive his memories (hence the nostalgia blast). Tails, Mighty, and Ray eventually get him out, but that's not covered in this bundle of drabbles here. A few of these may be familiar, as I have tacked them onto other things as bonus scenes.

Most of these are supposed to be vague and slightly confusing. All of them except for one are told from 20 year old Sonic's point of view, and he's kinda a passenger in his younger self's head (if that makes sense). He doesn't really have any dialogue, but he does think a few things. The first one is a bit different though, because it was supposed to come later in the story, toward the end before Tails frees him from the machine, so it's actually told from the younger-Sonic's POV.

Now that the long explanation is out of the way, enjoy the drabbles. I hope they're not too confusing. (I tried to put them in chronological order.)

* * *

><p><em>10: Green Hill Zone (Sonic 1)<em>

Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog rolled over uneasily in his bed before burying his head under his pillow, muffled cursing resounding through the whole room. His head was spinning and there was a thick pressure pressing against his skull amongst the pounding of his heart as it pumped quickly.

Eventually, he rolled out of his small bed, landing on the wood floor with a hallow thud. The young hedgehog twisted his back, popping the joints with sharp cracks before settling back onto the bed and slipping high tech sneakers over his socks. There were no laces or any type of fastenings on the shoes, but they hugged his feet tightly, while the red color shone brightly, showing how well taken care of they were.

With a sigh, Olgilvie trudged his way to the small mirror propped against the wall. He quietly gazed at his expression drearily before dragging a small hand through short, dull quills.

…_So young… _

The hedgehog jumped before twisting around, a threat on his lips. But, his dark eyes beheld no intruder and he shook his head. "Hearing things." His voice died out in the horrible acoustics of the room and he shook himself roughly before stooping down and grabbing at a small niche in the floorboards. A trapdoor just large enough for him to fit through popped open and a rope ladder unfurled, falling until it was hanging about a foot from the ground. Olgilvie scratched his ear once before backing his way out of the trapdoor and taking a few tentative steps down.

_Robotnik's coming._

The same voice from before sounded again and the young one jumped, losing his grip for a few seconds and sliding down a couple rungs. He gulped, eyes wide, as he looked around and underneath him.

"Very funny guys!" He ignored the way his voice shook. "C'mon! Cut it out!"

Only silence met his ears and he shook his head once more before continuing his descent.

When the voice came again, he was ready. Instinctually, his hands curled tightly around the rope while his feet slid sideways to hold him on the ladder.

_Don't go through the center of town._

Olgilvie shook his head, gulping uneasily as he analyzed the voice. Deep, yet still young like that of one just out of teenagerdom. It didn't seem to occupy any space like a regular voice but yet pounded in his ears. And, it had an echo laced through it.

Now, he was officially freaked out. There was a voice. It echoed. And, he was likely the only person that could hear it.

Thirty seconds later, Olgilvie screamed his way into the dwelling of his best friend. He passed by the woman of the house in a flash of blue and was up the stairs milliseconds later.

"G'morning Olgilvie!" The female armadillo called after him before shaking her head and turning back to the stove.

In the bedroom of her only son, the blue hedgehog was shaking a small form awake. "Mighty! Might! Wake up! I think I'm going _insane_!"

The figure under the covers twisted around, giving the intruder a sharp glare. "What's new, Sonic?"

Olgilvie slumped backward on the bed, crossing his arms and _humph_ing a tad. When the other didn't move, he easily shot out a foot and the sleepy figure went sprawling off the bed with a loud thud and a very rude curse.

The hedgehog couldn't help but chuckle at his friends unfortunate battle with gravity, but his mirth was cut off as a red, black, and gold form came barreling at him.

Mighty Armadillo was _not_ a morning person.

The two boys battled for a few minutes, each receiving misplaced elbows and misguided punches for their troubles. Neither could truly see what exactly it was they were hitting, but they both got a sick satisfaction when they heard small pained grunts from the other. The fight ended just as quickly as it started however and both young males were left panting and swearing the other's name and lineage.

"Ya'know, Mighty," the blue one began, rubbing a tender spot on his shoulder, "you'd be in pieces right now if I hadn't let my quills dull."

The armadillo looked up sharply, his face turned to the side to hide a long scratch Olgilvie's "blunt" quills had left on his face. "If you hadn't pushed me off the bed, this never would've happened!"

The hedgehog placed a gloved hand over his heart. "I'm hurt. I thought you knew me better than that. It was a _kick, _not a _shove_."

Mighty rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He pushed himself off the bed and crossed to his closet before pulling out a pair of shoes.

Olgilvie stood before stretching. "Ya'know, in the future, when I'm rich and famous, and you're a master detective, we're gonna look back on these times and laugh."

_Not far off_.

"If you say so, Sonic." The blue hedgehog barely heard his friend through the fog of voice-denial.

"Mighty-" He began, but was interrupted.

"Shower's that way, down the stairs," the armadillo pointed, "as I'm sure you were gonna ask." He stooped down and grabbed a towel before tossing it at his friend's head. "You really need to stop sleeping in that tree house. You smell rank."

Refusing a bath was a losing battle in the Armadillo household because all three residents were complete neat freaks. So, it was with great ire that Olgilvie (Sonic to his friends) trudged his way into the bathroom. After removing his shoes, socks, and gloves, he easily stepped under the hot spray and felt the day's grime flow away.

Olgilvie and water had a love-hate relationship, i.e. he loved it if it came out of a faucet or in a glass and hated it in every other form. He enjoyed showers most of the time, but today seemed to be an exception. His whole body was tense and his mind seemed to be thinking as fast as he could run.

He quickly soaped himself up and watched the white bubbles swirl their way down the drain. His dark eyes went unfocused and he zoned out long enough for the water to turn cold.

_Move back now_!

It only took the hedgehog half a second to respond, not even realizing that it was his mysterious voice talking to him. Moments after his quills had touched the marble of the wall behind him, something metallic crashed through the wall. It looked suspiciously like a claw, but there was something sinister about the way it was formed. Flashing lights covered its surface and it seemed to have a life of its own as it moved about the room, hissing and moaning like a piece of machinery. Thick steam spurted out of every joint, making it almost impossible to see. It was connected to something by a thick cable incased in metal, and it snapped it's three pincers three or four times, as if grasping for something that wasn't there.

Olgilvie's heart was beating loudly in his ears and his stomach had dropped to his feet. He had no idea what this thing was, but it made his belly into a pit of dread.

The claw twisted around, as if looking for someone and he closed his eyes and held his breath in an attempt to camouflage himself. Unfortunately, blue hedgehog against white wall isn't exactly something nature intended in way of survival adaptations, and the machine took notice of him almost immediately, seeming to snap in happiness before lunging forward. It only grasped plaster though, because Olgilvie was already across the room, shoes in hand, and out the door.

He dashed across the house faster than one might think possible and his eyes widened when he arrived in the large living area. One of the walls was knocked out and another was splintered dangerously. Mrs. Armadillo was nowhere to be found in the open kitchen and he paused only long enough to shove his socks and shoes on his feet. A flash of blue sped its way up the stairs towards Mighty's room, where he hoped he would find his friend.

His hopes were brought to fruition when he slammed open the door and found his buddy and his mother huddling together beside the bed, Mighty with his body covering that of his parent. She was whimpering slightly, but still trying to push her way out of his embrace when she saw Olgilvie.

"You both okay?" The first thing out of his mouth was a question, and both mother and son nodded. The speedster heaved a sigh of relief and finally pulled his gloves on over his dry hands. His quills were dripping water but he didn't seem to care.

Suddenly, the whole house shook as something crashed into the lower level and Olgilvie dashed over to the pair.

_Get to ground level. The house is going to fall in minutes._

Olgilvie didn't question the voice or its origins anymore. It had saved his life in the bathroom, and now wasn't the time to be zoning out anyway. He carefully clapped a hand on Mighty's shoulder, forcing the armadillo to look at him. "We need to move!" He urged over the creaking of the house as something slammed into the supports again. "The house is coming down!"

The red shelled mammal looked toward his mother before helping her to her feet and urging her to follow Olgilvie towards the door. She complied easily enough, her motherly instincts raging with her full force as her eleven year old son tried to protect her. They made their way down the hall and to the staircase before they hit a snag: a lack of steps. It wasn't that far of a jump for Olgilvie or Mighty but Mrs. Armadillo was another matter. She glanced at the gaping hole where her staircase used to be with trepidation, as if offended that it would fail them in their time of need.

Mighty sighed before gesturing with a gloved fist. "Go and make sure it's safe for her down there. I'll be right after you."

Olgilvie nodded, launching himself in a smooth arch off the crumbling second floor. He easily curled into a ball, turning his gravitational movement into rotational so that he could land safely. When his feet hit the ground, his mind was already processing the extent of disaster the house was in. There were only a few walls left and all the windows were small sparkles on the floor. Somewhere in the distance he could hear screaming and alarms, so he knew this wasn't an isolated incidence in the Armadillo house.

_Jump_!

The hedgehog didn't waste time doing so just as another claw whizzed through where he had just been standing and lodged itself in the opposite wall.

_Thank you, voice_. He breathed in his head. He wasn't expecting a reply and was slightly shocked when it sounded again.

_Of course, Sonic_.

He landed smoothly on top of the cable, his feet spread-eagle to keep him balanced. The metal monstrosity jiggled slightly as it felt his presence and tried to kick him off, but it was unsuccessful as he just dropped flat on his belly and wrapped both arms and legs around it. Somehow, his hold managed to loosen slightly and he found himself hanging upside from the thick wire as the thing tried to dislodge itself from the wall. His brain clicked through his options and he grinned evilly as he unwound his feet and kicked them back and forth to get momentum. His arms screamed at him because they were the pivot point of his swing, but he ignored them, counting in his head so he could keep a rhythm. Once he had enough power, he let go at just the right moment and curled into a ball so his quills were sticking straight out. His trajectory and built up speed made his spin quick and his aim true and he slammed back first into the thick metal. His dull quills lodged into the material and dug through. He could feel the jagged edges of the blunted spikes on his back snag on technology as he worked through, but inertia pushed him all the way to the other side. The cable dropped to the ground with a sharp _clang_ and twitched as electric sparks wracked its now still form.

"Score one Sonic, zip technology."

"That was amazing and all, Sonic," Mighty called from above, "but I'd appreciate it if you'd _move_."

"Oh," Olgilvie mumbled, skittering slightly to the side so Mighty could jump off the second floor. The armadillo gathered his mother into his arms and easily leapt off the crumbling ledge, landing just as easily as Olgilvie. Mighty then let his parent out of his arms and she turned to them both. Her face held an expression of pure shock and amazement, as if she had never seemed to comprehend what either of the boys could do.

"Boys…" She began, but was cut off as another arm shot through the room and latched itself around her midsection. She screamed as she was pulled backwards, and Sonic felt a shout of his own rip out of his throat, mingling with one of Mighty's tone and timbre. Mrs. Armadillo was the closest thing the young hedgehog had to a mother. She had practically raised him from toddlerdom, and she was the only one that insisted on calling him by his real name. Without her, Olgilvie wouldn't exist. Only Sonic would.

Sonic turned toward his friend, his mind already spinning with ideas, the yells of Mighty's mother still echoing around his head. "Throw me."

"What?"

"Might!" Sonic grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him roughly. "You're the strongest person I know; maybe even the strongest person on Mobius! You can lift _trees_ and_ cars_ like they're _playthings_, for Chaos' sake! Pretend I'm a basketball. _Throw me!_"

Suddenly, Mighty seemed to get the idea and his eyes lighted with understanding. He quickly grabbed both of the hedgehog's hands in his own before swinging Sonic around like a rag doll. Sonic cringed as his arm sockets screamed at him, but he didn't make a sound as Mighty brought him around so he was parallel with the ground. With a heave, Mighty swung his arm forward and Sonic was careful to straighten his body out into an arrow shape for maximum velocity. He slammed through the air, crashing through the sound barrier just as he was speeding through the hole in the wall left by the claw. He could see Mighty's mother ahead of him and he curled into a ball quickly, feeling the air closing around his form once more.

_Close your eyes_, the voice said to him, _and welcome to the war, Sonic the Hedgehog. _

o0o

_11: SegaSonic (SegaSonic the Hedgehog (Arcade Game))_

_(This one starts in with the POV from twenty-year-old Sonic's.)_

When Sonic eventually came to, he didn't need to open his eyes to know he was in a different place. He could feel it in his bones and deep in his heart, as if he was developing a sixth sense.

Dark eyes opened to naggingly familiar surroundings – dark metal walls and steel bars. He stood easily, the bump on his head seemingly nonexistent, but something still felt off. His eyes flicked back and forth uneasily while his ears twitched at every miniscule sound. He could feel fear that he hadn't felt in years sitting heavily in his round belly.

Wait a second…

_Round belly?_

He tried to make his head snap down so he could get a better view of his changed physique, but his neck wouldn't obey, as if being controlled by some demented puppet master. Suddenly, he was moving forward without his say so, his sneakers making tiny taping noises as he moved. Across the room, there was a small sink with a mirror suspended above it and his legs made a bee-line for it on their own accord.

Sonic's eyes widened as he caught sight of his face. He was a _mess_! His face was more red than tan and blue and his left arm was hanging at an unnatural angle. But, his injuries weren't what shocked him most; it was his _looks_.

Dark eyes, round stomach, shorter stature, and no doubt shoes without buckles if he could coax his head to look down. He had a sinking feeling in his gut as his brain pieced together the puzzle. He was in a body familiar yet foreign to him: his ten year old skin.

Sonic could feel his mind spinning as it tried to wrap itself around the alien concept. The nerve impulses rebelled, telling him that he had left this form behind almost ten years ago and there was no possible way his 19 year old mind could be inhabiting it. Yet, here he was, still staring at the dark eyed figure in the mirror.

His head started to throb as he fought with himself over the impossible and he felt the urge to clap his hands over his ears in pain, but they wouldn't move from where they were gripping the sink.

_Robotnik did this…_ The thought floated through his head, not coming from him, the mental voice seemingly younger than his own and Sonic would've jumped if his body had been listening. _He captured me and threw me in here_.

Suddenly, the body was moving again. The left heel hit the ground and the body pivoted with a grace a ballerina would be jealous of, before the right foot connected with the ground fluidly. The opposite foot followed easily before the process started again, the arms moving back and forth for balance smoothly.

Sonic couldn't help but marvel at how swiftly his body could move, as if seeing it for the first time. He was always in control, always thinking about something and letting his body run on autopilot. But, now that he wasn't in command, it came to the forefront.

Now, his old skin had reached the bars blocking his exit. The gloved hands reached up and grasped the metal, tugging slightly.

"Too sturdy." His voice was high pitched, still young, and his mind started to spin again.

He remembered this now. Robotnik had captured him a few months after his romp through South Island… Him and two others.

"Mighty! Ray!" Sonic's mouth opened again and his voice called out of its own accord once more.

That's right. Might and Ray, his best friends of old. He hadn't seen either of them in _years_. He would have to look them up if he ever got out of this mess.

"Sonic!"A deeper voice than his own called back and his heart picked up in his chest. His eyes focused out through the bars and widened to the size of dinner places. He was in the middle of Robotnik's giant prison compound, where the megalomaniac held all the Mobians he captured before he shoved them into machines.

Now the memories came flooding back even faster. Robotnik hadn't wasted any time capturing him and his two friends after recuperating from his stinging defeat in South Island. Now, Mighty and Ray and Sonic himself were all locked up here.

His brain quickly ran through what happened next in his memories. He would spindash his way out of the cell – having barely learned to do the maneuver only days before – alerting the nearest SWATbot of his escape. His brain would be spinning from the force required to break through the solid titanium and the 'bot would quickly give chase. Another spindash would free Mighty, but Ray was unreachable, stored on another level. Both he and Mighty would split up, Mighty would find Ray, retrieve Sonic, and then they would break out of there, releasing fellow Mobians as they went.

He remembered this vaguely, the multiple thrashings to his head making it almost impossible for him to remember much past his thirteenth birthday besides the trauma inducing incidents – such as his first adventure against Robotnik – or the glory radiating ones – like his meeting Tails. Still, he knew that he was in for a load of pain when his less-physics-inspired mind attacked those thick bars.

Seconds after he thought that, he could feel his body curling in on itself, getting ready for a spindash to cut through solid metal. The spin was awkward since the young mind had only practiced it once on an unassuming tree in Green Hill Zone, and Sonic knew it was less than streamlined, but it would do. The small body revved easily before he shot forward, screaming about how stupid he was when he was young in his head the whole way.

When his back smashed into the bars, he could feel the breath go out of his young form, and he attempted to command himself to take in more air. Of course, his nineteen-almost-twenty persona was only here for the ride, and his lungs didn't listen. It only took a few seconds for him to start seeing black spots in the middle of the swirling world, and he cursed himself violently for ever being so _stupid_.

(He conveniently forgot that he had done something similar to this only days before, except, instead of bars, it was solid, titanium _doors_.)

Suddenly, the young voice whispered through his mind again, as if riled up by his sailor-like vocabulary. _Gotta get through; Have'ta get out_!

Sonic felt himself become briefly stunned, as if the determination in his younger self had never really stuck him until now. He had been brave when he was younger, he knew, but he'd never realized he'd been that resolute, as if everything he did went into his escape in this one moment.

Suddenly, the bars gave way under the sharp quills and the young hedgehog rolled uncontrollably across the corridor, nothing holding back his built up momentum. Sonic felt his own mind start to whirl, as if he could actually feel the motion sickness his juvenile body was experiencing. The world swirled in a blend of color, and Sonic could feel himself slipping away, like the splashes of tone were making him lose his grip on this time and reality.

The last thing he heard before he was sucked back into the black void was a SWATbot calling out an alarm and Mighty's voice urging him to get up and run.

o0o

_12: Friendship (Sonic 2)_

Sonic slammed into the next memory with about as much grace as a dancing Knuckles after a particularly thick drinking binge. His nonessential mind spun as his consciousness tried to get a grip and some traction on the brain he currently inhabited. It took him a few seconds to neatly tuck himself into the folds of his younger self, already completely over the fact that he was reliving his memories. He was finally able to get a look through his old yet somehow new eyes and they would have widened if he had actual control over them. Green palms and thick grass surrounded him on all sides, the sea between here and the distant island glittering happily. Small Mobians splashed in the water and Sonic could feel his younger self's apprehension at the sight. A rough twitch shuddered up his backbone and his quills flared out instinctively, as if trying to fend off an attack. He was walking quickly down the boardwalk lining the beach, trying to keep his mind off the close proximity of the water.

Suddenly, some kids ran across his vision before cutting across the boardwalk feet in front of him, dripping water the whole time. Sonic could feel his eyes twitching as some of the droplets splashed onto him and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from verbally attacking his peers.

Instead, he watched as they dashed towards what looked like a small pile of sand. They converged on the mound, yelling loudly all of the sudden. The noise overpowered the beach, making almost everyone turn in that direction.

_Who knew little kids could be so _loud?

But, over all the clamor, a small voice called in a high pitched tone. Sonic couldn't hear what it was saying but he could tell from the tone that it was a call for help – a call he couldn't ignore.

It took him all of two seconds to scream across the beach and push himself into the crowd of young boys. He was careful as he shoved past them, making sure they didn't nick themselves on his sharp quills but still rough enough so they got the message to _move_. Most caught his drift when they turned to see who had grabbed their shoulder; eyes wide, they sputtered at him before he stepped past. Others thought large of themselves and attempted to obstruct him. These he sent sprawling into the sand, hiding his mirth as they stared at him dumbly.

As he worked his way towards the middle, the number of those trying to cease his movement increased and outnumbered those smart enough to move out of his way. In a few moments time, he had over half of the large group nursing sore tails and the rest ogling at him, stuck in the disbelief that a living legend had just _touched them_. He shook his head at the younger males, trying to think of a time when he acted that way. Of course, his mind was biased and couldn't pull up a single incidence, but he was sure that if he questioned one of his friends, there would surely be many. However, he pushed these thoughts away as he finally came upon the middle of the group.

What he saw there both infuriated him and disappointed him, if such a combination of emotions was possible.

_Oh…_ His older thoughts rumbled through his head, unheard by the one in control. _This moment… I remember this… _

Three figures wrestled in the sand, two clearly overpowering the third. In fact, it wasn't so much _wrestling_ as _beating up_. The third person was younger, if the voice being yelled above the cries of the other two boys was any indication, and he was firmly pressed into the ground by the other two. One of the older boys – some kind of cat species by the looks of it – was pounding roughly on the smaller's chest and face, smiling almost gleefully as his victim cried out with each hit. The other – a coyote – was pinning his arms down so he couldn't move to fight back. Sonic couldn't tell what species the one receiving the beating was, because he was so obscured by the others.

_It made him sick._

He saw red. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously and his fists clenched, a pure rage coursing through his veins. A rage he hadn't felt since Robotnik attacked his village and ended his life as he knew it. His feet planted in the sand, gathering traction on the loose substance and he was about to pounce on the older boys to give them a taste of their own medicine when one of them spoke.

"Had enough yet, _Miles_?" The cat-like one yelled into the face of the one digging deeper and deeper into the sand. "Where're your precious bombs _now_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" A broken sob emerged from the sands, and Sonic felt his heart jerk unexpectantly. "What _bombs_?" The voice was harsh with disbelief as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"You know exactly what bombs I'm talking about, you freak!" The cat was screeching now, shaking the life out of the other. "The bombs you almost blew up the whole _Zone_ with!"

There came no reply, and the cat looked towards the coyote, nodding his head roughly. The dog smiled smoothly before scooping down and pulling the sobbing child to his feet. Sonic's eyes were immediately drawn to the blood spattered boy, categorizing injuries and wounds. The child was a fox – he could see that now – and his face was almost disfigured. His nose was obviously broken and his teeth looked like they had seen better days. Luckily however, he looked young enough for them to only be baby teeth, so he would be receiving his older pair to replace them soon enough. He was hunched over, hand pressed to his chest, an obvious sign of a broken rib, and his eyes were closed as he awaited whatever punishment his tormentors were going to inflict while he was standing.

He couldn't have been older than four or five.

The cat took over sentry duty by the kit's only free arm and the coyote paced in front before stopping and glaring towards his victim. "Well, Miles," he mumbled, grinning maliciously, "you gonna tell us where you hid those bombs?"

It stuck Sonic as weird that neither of the boys seemed to notice that their cheering squad had been silenced minutes before. They seemed so far into their own gruesome world that they didn't comprehend anything about the outside world.

_Well,_ he thought, finally breaking through the spell the confrontation had put him in, _it's time to make them realize_.

He attacked quickly, slamming into the coyote like a semi-truck, throwing him to the ground. He landed very similarly to a forgotten rag-doll but rolled over moaning, showing a sign of life. The cat was down seconds later, standing about as much chance against Sonic as his buddy.

The hedgehog wasted no time speeding to the fox's side. The little one didn't seem to comprehend that the danger to him was gone, because he didn't open his eyes. He stood shaking, hands wrapped around his torso and tails between his legs.

_Wait… Tails_…?

It seemed impossible, but this kit possessed two of the appendages instead of one. Sonic lost himself for a few seconds as he stared at the double twitching masses, but shook his head when he realized what he was doing. Carefully, he forced the cub to move his head towards him, murmuring easily to him. "It's okay, kiddo. They're not gonna hurt you anymore."

The young one seemed to sense the kindness in his words and his ears pricked. Slowly, dark eyes opened and stared at Sonic with pure terror. However, the hedgehog's easy smile seemed to settle the child some, and his expression softened.

The hedgehog smiled kindly at the young one, patting his head simply, and giving him a thumbs up. "You're with me now, kid. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

_No truer words have been spoken_… Sonic mumbled to himself as he watched his younger self confront the bullies, wishing for the first time that he knew how he was visiting his memories. This was one that he wanted to experience again. _I'll watch over you Tails, even if you don't want me to sometimes._

o0o

_13: Warping (Sonic CD)_

Spinning.

He was spinning.

The world was spinning.

A cornucopia of colors swirled around his eyes, making his mind bend and his senses scramble.

Stretching.

His quills were stretching, growing longer with pains that were excruciating and intoxicating all at once, as if he were seeing himself as he would in the future; a sneak peak of what was to come.

Lengthening.

His legs pulled out away from him on their own, gaining extra length while his arms and fingers elongated to compensate for the shifted lower body.

Extending.

Time extended in front of him as well as behind him, as if he were in a small bubble of frozen era.

Suspended.

Animation stopped. Time ceased. He moved. Oscillating through time, he soared through millenniums, not daring to look back or forward, but to live in the moment, no matter how fleeting that may be. His nose was constantly ages older than the tips of his toes and his mind had hundreds of years on his heart, yet his soul felt the same.

Speed.

His alacrity held no consequence. He could have been at a standstill and it would still feel like he was moving at the speed of light.

Exhilaration.

o0o

_14: Forgotten (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006)_

Suddenly, _dark_. Vague memories slammed into him, lingering only long enough for him to barely grasp. Life lost meaning; the memories gained importance – something he had lost and would never gain again.

A flash of Silver.

A dash of blue.

Something rectangular flying at his head.

A thick heat.

A sharp pain.

Something pressing against his lips.

A feeling of grievance.

The whimpering of a Brother.

The concern of a Guardian.

The impassiveness of a Shadow.

_Multi-hued light_.

Warmth.

Understanding.

Life.

Danger.

_Danger_.

DANGER.

_DANGER._

Pain.

Frustration.

Anger.

Fuel to fight.

o0o

_15: Legends (Sonic and the Black Knight)_

_A sharp gust of air_. He jumped, avoiding the hit by mere millimetres. _A glint of steel_. He twisted, maneuvering away seconds later and back the way he came. Double swords swung at him as his opponent attempted to slash him in two. He moved with grace though, his own sword a lethal weapon of alacrity.

The doubles were heavy, made for force and strength and that put his adversary at a disadvantage against his speed. Caliburn sang as it was swept through the air, while its enchanted mouth called out advice and insults at its blue wielder. The red foe constantly had to backtrack, unable to keep up with the speedier one's movements. This gave him an extreme vulnerability that allowed Caliburn to sail through his defenses and slam into his armor. Breath was caught, body hunched instinctively and thus letting the enchanted sword to move forward quickly again, striking with lethal accuracy. Every hit caused his guard to crumble more and more.

_Knuckles_… He thought to himself as he swung his sword at the armored echidna, smirking when the sound of metal on metal resonated out. His body jumped into the air, curling into a homing attack, sword protruding from his spin and flinging out at unsafe angles. Now that Caliburn accompanied him when he homing attacked into the air, his spins weren't as defined and easy to control as before, so he had to be careful about where he did it. Didn't want to hit any unknowing villagers who didn't have the common sense to go inside when a bunch of purple monsters attacked.

His attack brought him down straight onto the armored head of his opponent with a large clang. The echidna stumbled back, landing roughly on his backside, unable to guard in time. Hedgehog feet pounded on the ground as their owner darted across the clearing, his sword coming up and leveling with the other's chin.

_No…_ He thought to himself, as he felt the adrenaline of the success pouring into his veins. It disgusted him. _What am I _doing? !_ This is Knuckles! Not some knight!_

Of course, the one in control couldn't hear him, and he himself knew he was being irrational. Knuckles was up on Angel Island at this very moment, probably living it up by sleeping by day and… sleeping more by night. The echidna in front of him _was _a knight. He was Gawain.

"Surrender, brave knight," Caliburn called from Sonic's hand, "for you have been beaten."

"No! How can this be? " Was the only response they got, and it was enough for Sonic. He lowered his sword before turning and walking away, allowing the red one behind him to catch his wits. He shoved Caliburn sharp side down into the dirt, so the sword could see what was going on, but also wouldn't be in the way.

A large pound followed the sharp sound of Caliburn digging into the dirt, and the hedgehog spun around. Sonic rolled his eyes mentally. _Here comes the theatrics_…

"To lose a mere apprentice..." The Knuckles look-a-like moaned to himself in self-pity. Sonic felt the fur on his back bristle at the lowly title, and he gnashed his teeth together roughly. "I have been disgraced!" Sonic could barely hold back the laughter struggling to the surface of his mental throat, and he coughed to himself, not noticing the small jump his younger self made involuntarily, as if he felt the cough himself.

"Only death can remove this stain upon my honor." A rattling sound filled the clearing as Gawain raised one of his swords up to his neck, as if to slash himself. It physically hurt Sonic to stifle the snickers trying to escape from the prison of his esophagus.

"Gimmie a break!" Exasperated, Sonic rolled his eyes and grabbed the sword from the echidna, tempted to reach out and slap him. "What's up with all this _drama_?"

"_Silence_! Silence, I say!" Gawain raised his arms into the air, his eyes screwed shut, one knee resting on the ground. "A knight who fails their king is unfit to _live_!"

_Oh, Knuckles… What would the Master Emerald say if it knew you were giving up your life for another? Tsk. Tsk. _

"Isn't there more to being a knight than just serving a king?"

_This speech is going up there with 'The Super Power of Teamwork' and 'I just need to see you smile!' Note to self: Don't ever go into public speaking…_

"Huh?" The knight grunted, just seeming to comprehend his words.

"I'm outta here." Sonic replied, marching away and grabbing Caliburn out of the dirt. "People to save, ya know?" With barely a glance back, he kept going, leaving the clearing behind and striding into the next memory.

o0o

_16: Collecting (Sonic the Hedgehog 4)_

Colors swirled before his eyes. Blue and greens flashed as he curled and floated around, bouncing off barriers and strange peppermint-looking balls. He fell through rings easily, picking them up and feeling them adding to his energy reserves and keeping him from feeling sick from the continuous spinning. Reds and oranges starbursted behind him in a constant pattern and he couldn't help but feel like his blue fur stuck out sharply against the slowly cycling washed out colors.

_At least there's no freakin'_ fish. He heard his slightly younger self mutter to himself as he slammed roughly into a bumper and shot off at a perpendicular angle. _And… Why doesn't it surprise me that those are here_? He crashed around a corner, plunging through a group of six rings.

Suddenly, the green was replaced with yellow and the pattern of the barriers picked up to seizure-inducing speed. Sonic forced himself to not look at the pretty flashing lights and instead focused on the next group of spinning circlets in front of him. It was tough, as the rings weren't always where he could see them, but he knew that he would have to, if he wanted to get out of here with an Emerald. The rings were the key. They led the way to the gem.

Collecting more gold pieces, he turned himself around, cursing this version of the Special Stage because of the fact that it didn't have the different control spheres like the first version he had experienced. He would've paid all of the Mobiums he had in his light wallet just for one 'down' sphere.

The next few seconds were spent in monotony as he gathered rings and received more bumps and bruises than he cared for. He was doing pretty well, if his sense of direction was anything to go by. He could feel the hairs on his arms rising as they sensed the energy from the Emerald starting to pulse closer and he attempted to speed up his spin.

It worked. Until he collided with a thick barrier that wasn't like the others. A large number 6 was displayed on a small screen next to the barrier, and Sonic was dumbfounded for approximately 1.3 seconds. Then, it clicked in his mind and he turned himself completely around and fell through a few more rings. The number diminished down to 2. Grabbing the needed amount, he watched through spinning eyes as the barrier chimed, flashed, and vanished. He soared through, the feeling of the Emerald getting stronger every second.

o0o

_17: Foot-In-The-Mouth (Sonic Colors)_

"Wow, sometimes I even impress myself." A thumb was hooked towards a tan chest, a sparking robot head the sole, _silent_ witness.

_Oh, Chaos… No. No way. _If Sonic had control of his own head, he would've shaken it.

"For a second there I wasn't sure I was going to pull it off." Gloved hands were waved around eagerly, as if speaking to a long lost friend, and not a heap of steel.

_Why, Eggman, why? !_

"Oh, who am I kidding, we both knew how this would end." His back was arched, one hand on his hip, and one pointing towards the soul-less head.

Nineteen year old Sonic remained silent.

"Uh…"

Sonic jerked onto his toes, his back stiffening, his shoes scraping across the ground, and a startled noise coming out of his throat without his permission.

"Are you talking to the broken robot who can't hear you?" Tails walked up, hand held out in inquisition.

_Stupid fox. He knows better than to question me when I'm talking to inanimate objects_.

Sonic turned, planting his feet and holding his hands out in helplessness. "Uh, maybe. That's between me and the robot."

_Don't think I haven't seen you talking to that screwdriver of yours…_

"See, the important thing here is the alien planet is free."

_And don't even get me started on the goo-goo eyes you make at the Tornados… _

Tails rubbed his forehead with his hands for a few seconds before answering. "Absolutely."

Grumbling sounded from the vindictive hedgehog.

"So, we can just forget about the whole talking to dead robots thing, right?"

_I should know better than to ask…_

"Nope."

_I should know better than to expect Tails to be reasonable…_

"I knew you'd say that." He visibly wilted in front of his brother, his arms hanging parallel to his legs.

"Well, come on. I've seen you save the day a lot of times-"

_Yes, yes you have_.

"-but I've never seen you talk to a pile of metal."

_Lies! You saw me talking to the microwave the other day, you fail fox._

"Touché…"

… _why do I feel like such a space case…?_

o0o

_18: Blast-Off_

_(This one's a bonus; not a memory. I wrote this into the big fight at the end of the story, and I thought it was too brilliant to pass up sharing.)_

Tails cringed as the laser pointed as his head started to glow and emit a high pitched noise, his fur starting to crackle at the built up energy. The fox was frozen out of fear, not able to move at all and he was sure that this was his end. Silently, he said goodbye to all his friends, praying that they would win this battle without any more casualties besides his own.

But, just as the prayer started to form on his lips, the laser was cut off, pieces of it raining down around him like drops in a spring shower. He felt his eyes widen behind his goggles and his mouth hit the ground as the blue orbs caught sight of his darker blue savior.

"'Sup, Tails?" Sonic quipped, leaning against Eggman's head, the doctor in shock at the loss of his cannon as well. "What have I told you about dying without my permission?"

"S-Sonic?"

"Sonic!" Robotnik's voice cut through the fox's own disbelief, but in a different kind. "What about Metal Sonic?"

The hedgehog simply rolled his eyes and hooked a thumb over his shoulder "He took a trip. Should be back in about... three... two... one." On the last word, a blue and gray shape careened into the ground about three hundred yards behind the trio, burrowing deeply into the ground and smoldering a bit. "You could say he's six feet under now."

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><p><em>Hope you enjoyed. Review please?<em>


	11. CrossExamination II

_Don't Take Wooden Nickels_

_19: Cross-Examination part II  
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**Notes:** It's been a while, huh? Hope you guys didn't miss me too much. (I do write other things you know.) This particular drabble is a continuation of number nine. You know? The one where Tails was blown to pieces? Yeah. I actually meant to write this like over a year ago, but other things *coughTheGenesisofaGeneration cough* hijacked my brain. I'm taking a break from my major stories in November, so I decided to just get this out of my incomplete folder. _  
><em>

Enjoy~

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><p>Tails is appalled, honestly. Really, he figured that the gods would have less of a sense of humor. After all, he did stick his neck out for them on more than one occasion – the last of such instances actually landing him in this situation – and he assumed that they would have more tact than this.<p>

But, really, he can't expect anything less from Tikal, a girl so infatuated with Sonic's well-being that she would do anything to ensure his survival, and Chaos, a being that never really liked Tails for his technological mind-set, so when he finally – _finally_ – makes his way into their little pocket of afterlife, he is not surprised when they tell him that he is not welcome there.

Just appalled.

They inform him that, even though he just recently died – _blown up_, he reminds them – he is still needed on the planet. They have already decided – _without asking for his opinion_, he mumbles – that he needs to return to his friends.

As a guardian angel.

Full wings and everything.

Really, the wings are a bit redundant, considering that he could fly while he was alive and he kinda just floats everywhere now that his body is no longer… _a body_, so he just assumes that they are a cruel joke meant to mess with his head.

He doesn't let on that it's working.

Tails sighs and shakes his head as he recalls the outrageousness of this whole situation. He is perched in a tree set adjacent to the apartment Sonic is renting, looking into the hedgehog's window with barely veiled curiosity. According to the gods, it has only been a few weeks since he left, and Sonic has not really gotten over it. Of course, he pulls that stiff-upper-lip crap that he's always buying into and shoves all of his emotions down, further worsening the already horrible problem, and Tails can tell that he's close to a breaking point. He just… _sits there_, staring at a wall, or the ceiling, or, when he's feeling adventurous, his shoes. His eyes are far away and Tails can tell that he's remembering something.

Knuckles visits twice a day to make sure that Sonic eats, sometimes having to spoon feed him pieces of chili dog. He talks to fill the silence, since Sonic is obviously not listening. He speaks of Amy, Cream, heck, even Eggman, who has been mysteriously missing for the past few weeks (a fact that Tails has a sinking feeling about), but he never mentions the problem, just dances around Tails' death.

Honestly, Tails doesn't understand why Sonic is reacting this way. Sure they were best friends – _brothers_ even – but that shouldn't stop the hero of Mobius. Sonic was supposed to be _strong_, not someone so easily broken.

So, when Sonic takes a rare bathroom break, Tails easily phases his way into the room, intent on getting a feel for what's going on. Of course, Sonic can't see him – he's got himself set on invisible _and_ intangible, just in case – so he floats himself over the edge of the bed and waits.

Sonic returns a few minutes later, looking pale and washed out, something that Tails hadn't noticed from outside. He sits on the bed, staring at his shoes and he looks to be mumbling something, not that Tails can hear it. Slowly, the fox floats forward, trying to decipher what his best friend is saying.

"—feel so useless. Can't do anything besides sit here... Some hero…"

The way he trails off is the only warning the Tails has. Sonic whips his head toward the fox, as if he can sense him. Tails, his reaction times still pretty quick, yelps and falls backward, landing with his back on the mattress. He lets out a huff and sits up quickly to see if Sonic has noticed anything amiss.

"Tails?" He asks staring straight at the fox, and Tails realizes that, _yes, he has noticed._ The kit, in his startled state, had accidentally let his invisibility and intangibility drop.

"He-ey, Sonic." Tails tries to sound nonchalant, but he can tell from the wide eyes of his friend that he's failed. "Look, before you say anything about the wings," he plows forward before Sonic can react, trying to make light of the whole situation, "I'd just like to say that they were totally _not_ my idea and—"

"What wings?" Sonic sounds baffled and his expression is wide eyed and open mouthed. It would have been comical if the situation was different.

Tails ruffles his wings so the pearly white catches the sunlight and shines in a – Tails cringes as the adjective crosses his mind – godly explosion of sparkles. Sonic's expression stays at the same level of astonished, not falling into shock at seeing the something out of the ordinary.

Convenient – only visible to him. Of course. Tails sends a deeply offensive thought to Tikal and Chaos.

"Never mind then."

"Tails… Am I...am I dead?"

"What?!" The fox laughs out of surprise. "Ha! No!"

"Oh…" Sonic's ears snap downward and his jaw hardens. Tails feels his heart jerk at the sight of his once strong friend looking so unbelievably shattered. "You're not...alive...are you?"

Tails winces visually, ignoring Sonic's searching face. "No, Sonic," he sighs, "I'm not."

"Oh…" Sonic sighs out again. "I'm dreaming." He heaves in a deep breath. "Finally."

The mixed tone of exhaustion and suffering relief pulls at the fox's heartstrings and he closes his eyes. It would be so easy to let Sonic believe that, to just fade back into invisibility and allow Sonic think what he wanted. But, he can't. He owes Sonic too much to lie.

"You're not dreaming." It comes out as a whisper, and Tails can feel his ears lower.

At first Sonic doesn't react. He looks down at his hands, analyzing a rip in the fabric of his gloves. Tails shifts so he's sitting comfortably – or at least, what would have been comfortably when he could actually feel – and he draws Sonic's eyes.

"Why're you here, Tails?" The question comes from nowhere and Tails stares back at him for a few seconds, weighing his possible responses.

He chooses the safest. "What do you mean?" This is accompanied by the familiar head cock to the side.

Sonic's eyes narrow at the move. "Are you haunting me?"

"Wha—what?! No!"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm…" The fox flounders for a few precious seconds, during which Sonic's expression closes off even further. Eventually, Tails decides that telling the truth is probably the best option. The gods hadn't explicitly told him he couldn't let Sonic know about his presence. "I'm here to protect you."

He expects a lot of reactions from his friend, but a snort and a '_ha_!' cracked into his face isn't one of them. "Like, a _guardian angel_?" Tails opens his mouth to reply, but Sonic cuts him off. "C'mon dude, I know you wouldn't go for that."

Tails takes Sonic's mood swing in stride and he scowls. "…I was forced."

"Did you lose a bet?" Sonic is chuckling now, and Tails feels his ears lower again. "Draw the short straw?"

"I was told that you couldn't deal with your grief and to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." The fox sniffs, crossing his arms.

Sonic's laughter chokes off and his shoulders hunch up in a reach for his ears. "What?" It is barely a whisper, and Tails' ears climb back up to catch it.

"You've been...detached is the nice way to put it. Tikal was worried about you. Sent me to watch you."

Sonic doesn't reply for a few seconds and when he does, it is in an impossibly small voice, a voice Tails didn't know the hero was capable of. "I'm sorry, bro."

"Huh?" It isn't a very eloquent response, but it's all Tails can think up.

"I'm sorry you died, Tails. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"Oh—oh _Sonic_." The fox falls forward to place his hand on the speedster's shoulder. He half expects it not to work and is pleasantly surprised when it rests on blur fur. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. If you hadn't been in the Workshop—," he heaves a deep breath, "If I had made you go for a run with me…"

"Ifs won't change anything," Tails asserts. "What happened happened. You're not honoring my memory by moping like this."

Sonic sends him a loaded look. His green eyes seem endless with grief and blame, but the fox can see a spark in them, a sign that his words have spiked something. "So that's why you're here. To remind me that I'm a useless hero. I just sit here, going over that day, trying to figure it out. I can't—"

"That's not the Sonic I know! The Sonic that was my best friend would be out, trying to figure out what Eggman's up to. Or running around. He would be _doing something._"

"I can't Tails." He is whispering again, but it's louder than the last time. "I just can't."

"Why not?!"

"Because I _miss_ you."

Tails sucks in a deep breath, and the fire that has been building inside of him – frustration at Sonic's attitude – dims. "Well, you don't have to anymore." He pauses and waits for Sonic's response. The hedgehog makes a confused sound obligingly when he notices the fox watching him. "I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere."

The hero sends him a sideways glance. "That's what we thought when you were alive."

Tails' expression darkens and he resists the urge to groan. "Where am I going to go? Who can take me now?"

Sonic seems stumped at that and he shakes his head in response.

"Look, Sonic. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

The hedgehog's ears rise and his shoulders relax. "Promise? Tails, I'm not a child."

The fox shrugs. "Maybe not, but a promise is a promise. Should I make it a pinky promise?"

Sonic ignores his cheeky grin. "It wouldn't hurt." He returns the smile.

Tails leans toward his friend and proffers his pinky. The hedgehog easily hooks his own little finger around his friend's. "I promise I won't leave you again."

"And I promise to make you run with me, no matter how much you want to work on a project."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Tails chuckles before opening his mouth to say something more.

But, then, something tugs at his back and he whips his head around. His wings are shimmering, going translucent in front of his eyes. Within seconds, they are completely gone, and his shoulders sag as the weight leaves them.

"_You have done well, Miles Prower,_" a soft voice whispers. Tails is reminded of chimes on the wind. "_You will no longer be expected to endure the Guardian Angel status. Enjoy your afterlife._"

"Huh," the fox grunts, "that was a pleasant surprise."

Sonic sends him a confused glance and the younger mobian waves him off. They sit in companionable silence for a few minutes before Sonic finally hedges something.

"How much do you think we could scare Knuckles with your ghost act?"

Tails grins wickedly at him.

And, they find out, they can scare Knuckles enough to make him scream and pass out.

_Things are returning to normal_, Tails thinks as he watches Sonic chuckle outright at Knuckles' comatose state. The hedgehog nudges the red form with his toe. _Or, at least as normal as they can be._

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><p><em>I'm a sap for happy endings. And friendshipy moments. <em>

_Reviews are cherished.  
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